Information minister Maryam Aurangzeb has announced in Islamabad that the 70-day door-to-door campaign will be concluded in two phases at a financial cost of around $185-million.
The minister explained that nearly 120,000 specially trained government workers have been deployed to undertake the much-needed census. She called on citizens to cooperate with the counters and warned against “willfully” giving false information, saying those found guilty would face a six-month jail term and a financial penalty of around $500.
“Pakistan is ready for the sixth housing and population survey ... As we all know it has been after 19 years that we are going into this census process. We all know how distribution of resources, evidence-based legislation and policy-making are important for policy of the country for social service provisions,” she said.
Army spokesman Major-General Asif Ghafoor told reporters that his institutions has been tasked to provide security and ensure the census is conducted in a “smooth” and “transparent” manner.
“A solider will accompany every civil enumerator and will also collect his own data during the door-to-door campaign. We have put in place a system to immediately verify the information,” Ghafoor said. He added that more than 200,000 soldiers involved in the activity have undergone special training sessions.
